EIGHT people have been injured in a multi-vehicle pile-up that closed a major North Yorkshire road for hours yesterday afternoon.

Firefighters had to cut several people from their cars following the crash just after 3pm on the A169 Malton to Pickering road. One person had to be airlifted to hospital and two others were seriously injured.

A fleet of vehicles from all three emergency services attended the scene as long traffic queues built up.

The road was completely blocked and did not reopen until 8.20pm.

Initial calls to the emergency services said that four vehicles had crashed on the A169 near Low Marishes just north on Malton. A BMW 3 series, a Peugeot 208 and a Vauxhall Insignia were among the vehicles involved.

Five fire crews from Malton, Pickering, Kirkbymoorside and Huntington attended and cut several people from the wreckage of the vehicles.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service sent five ambulances, a rapid response vehicle, a clinical supervisor, an emergency care provider and others to the scene, where they treated two patients.

Six more patients were taken to hospital. One was airlifted by Yorkshire Air Ambulance to James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough, where they were joined by two more patients who were taken there by road ambulance.

All three were believed to be suffering from serious spinal or pelvic injuries.

Three less seriously injured patients were taken by road ambulance to York Hospital.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said nobody has sustained life-threatening injuries.

The road was completely blocked and long queues of traffic built up. At one stage the southbound queue stretched for more than a mile past the turn-off to High Marishes.